PREVIEW: #24 Huskies clash with #6 Lakers

HOUGHTON, Mich. - The two teams at the top of the conference standings clash again Thursday in Allendale as the Michigan Tech Huskies take on Grand Valley State at 6 p.m. The Huskies then play at Davenport Saturday to close out their final regular season road trip.

Tech brings a 19-4 overall record and three-game win streak into the weekend with a chance to overtake the Lakers for first place with a win. MTU is Nationally Ranked for the first time this season, checking in at No. 24. Grand Valley State has won three straight since falling to the Huskies at SDC Gymnasium 57-56 on January 21 and boast a 10-1 record on their home court. 

The Lakers are the third-stingiest defensive team in Division II, allowing just 50.9 points per game to opponents. GVSU surrendered just eight points in the first half Saturday in a decisive 81-61 road victory over Davenport.

The Huskies are led by defending GLIAC Freshman of the Year Isabella Lenz. It was Lenz who shocked the Lakers with two made jump shots in the final eight seconds in their first matchup. The latter fadeaway sent the Huskies home winners at the final buzzer. Lenz ranks fourth in the GLIAC in 3-point percentage and assists and scores at a rate of 14.7 points per game.

Michigan Tech tops the conference in both free throw percentage (79.9-percent) and turnovers (12.3). They rank inside the top 10 in Division II in both categories. 

Senior guard Emily Spitzley is already a two-time All-GLIAC First Team selection for GVSU and the Lakers rank first in the league in eight major statistical categories, including points (78.1), points against (50.9), rebounds (42.4), assists (16.3), steals (9.8), blocks (4.6), field goal percentage (47-percent), and 3-point percentage (37.3-percent).

After the teams split the regular season series in 2021-22, the Lakers ended Michigan Tech’s season in the GLIAC Semifinals 71-57 on March 5 at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. GVSU was ranked No. 2 in the country at the time and went on to finish runner-up in the GLIAC Tournament, then win the NCAA Midwest Region Championship, and eventually fell in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight Semifinals to Glenville State 77-53.

Michigan Tech’s last win in Allendale came on February 20, 2021. Ellie Mackay swished a long 2-pointer just ahead of the final buzzer for a 54-52 final score. The Huskies trailed by seven with just 45 seconds remaining, then climbed back to tie it with 3.2 seconds left. Mackay (Novi, Michigan) was celebrated last weekend in Houghton after appearing in her Michigan Tech record 131st career game.

The 2020-21 GLIAC Player of the Year has twice been a First Team All-GLIAC selection and remains on pace to set the MTU record for best career free throw percentage. Mackay has 17 games in double-figures this season and posted a season high 24 points at Wisconsin Parkside on December 1.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS (20-2, 11-1)

• Since losing to Michigan Tech on January 21, the Lakers have won three straight, including a 68-46 victory over Davenport on Saturday in Grand Rapids.
• The Lakers allowed Davenport just two points in the first quarter and six point in the second for a 33-8 lead at halftime.
• Ellie Droste scored 13 points and shot 4-for-4 from the floor.
• Paige Vanstee and Hannah Kulas added 10 points apiece.
• The Lakers first loss came at home on December 31 against Lewis 69-63. GVSU dropped from No. 1 to No. 4 in the WBCA National Rankings as a result.
• Spitzley was named preseason All-GLIAC First Team and Ellie Droste Second Team.
• Spitzley posted a strong junior campaign last winter as the Lakers’ leading scorer. She averaged 12.6 points per game and shot 45-percent from the floor and 42-percent from behind the arc.
• Droste averaged 11.8 points per game in 2021-22 and shot 46-percent from the floor and 41-percent from three. Droste also led the tam in free throw percentage and free throws made while dishing 54 assists and grabbing 2.7 rebounds per game.
• Head coach Mike Williams enters his eighth season at the helm of GVSU, and 2021-22 GLIAC Coach of the Year is coming off his best season in Allendale, as the Lakers went 30-2 overall, and 18-1 in GLIAC play, and advanced to the NCAA Final Four.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS (7-15, 1-11)

• The Panthers will attempt to snap a five game losing streak Thursday night against Northern Michigan before the Huskies roll into Grand Rapids.
• Davenport shot just 28-percent from the floor in a 68-46 loss to Grand Valley State on Saturday.
• The Panthers hired Shona Sanders this season to turn around a program that has not enjoyed a winning season since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in 2017-18. 
• DU was picked to finish ninth in the conference ahead of Lake Superior State with 10 newcomers on the squad.
• Last year’s leading scorer Toni Grace transferred for her graduate season to Alabama A&M after putting up 12.4 points per game and 1,394 career points at DU.
• Sophomore forward Lilee Gustafson has picked up the slack and ranks third in the conference in rebounds (9.4) and field goal percentage (51.4-percent).

D2SIDA MIDWEST REGION RANKINGS (WEEK 12)

Receiving Votes: Ferris State

WBCA National Rankings

GLIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• Alyssa Nelson continues to rewrite the Parkside record books. After scoring 17 points in the Rangers win over Ferris State, Nelson was just one point away from becoming the first player in program history to score 2,000 points in her career.
• Nelson cruised past the 2,000-point mark in Saturday’s game against Lake Superior State, scoring 23 points in the home victory. 
• Nelson’s 23 points led the Rangers to a 109-68 win over the Lakers, as the team broke the program’s single-game scoring record of 108 points, which had stood since 1988.